


Speechless

by Yooms (Yummistuck)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Humanstuck, M/M, Muteness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-24
Updated: 2012-10-25
Packaged: 2017-11-14 23:57:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/520859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yummistuck/pseuds/Yooms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Davekat fic with mute!Dave. I originally uploaded this on my tumblr writing blog! Humanstuck.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

You have only recently moved here in this slummed down city. It’s the usual story: job problems, no friends, your old place just sucked in general. Your dad was able to get a nice job here and furthermore a not half-bad apartment floor. It took the two of your less than two hours to move in and about five minutes for you to open your laptop and log onto Pesterchum.

Not much of your friends are online. You don’t allow this to hinder you, though, and instead just open up Google Chrome. You’re mindlessly scrolling through your dashboard when a window pops up.

—  ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] —

EB: hey karkat!

You met John when the two of you were about twelve on Neopets. You two had both lied about your ages and ended up simultaneously banned when you were trolling together on the forums. He was able to contact you afterward and you two have had an incredibly stupid friendship since.

CG: GOOD MORNING, EGBERT. IS SUNSHINE BEAMING OUT OF YOUR ASSHOLE AGAIN?

EB: nice to see you too!

EB: anyway, how’s your new place?

CG: I CAN MAKE A LONG LIST TO DESCRIBE MY GENERAL OPINION ON THIS PLACE. I COULD GO ON AND ON ABOUT THE SCRAGGLY SIDEWALKS AND HOT WEATHER AND THE REALLY OUTSPOKEN PEOPLE. I MIGHT EVEN BE ABLE TO EXTEND ON HOW EVEN THE FOOD IS DIFFERENT! BUT I’LL JUST SUM IT DOWN TO THIS: IT SUCKS.

EB: really?

EB: why?

CG: BECAUSE IT DOES.

CG: I HAVEN’T EVEN BEEN HERE FOR A FULL DAY, HOW WOULD I KNOW?

EB: i dunno!

EB: school’s not going to start for a while so you should at least explore a bit.

CG: EXPLORING IS FOR THE DIMWITTED

EB: hehe!

EB: you know, i think you live near my friend.

CG: REALLY?

CG: ANY SORT OF FUCK I GAVE TOWARD THAT STATEMENT WAS JUST SUCKED THROUGH OUR SHITTY AC AND WAS SPAT OUT OF THIS APARTMENT.

EB: hey, he’s a cool guy!

EB: he’s a lot like you actually, just not as yelly and rude all the time.

EB: okay nevermind, he’s really rude and a bit of an asshole.\

CG: YEAH, THAT MAKES THE POSSIBLITY OF HIM AND ME HAVING ANY SORT OF CONNECTION TOGETHER REAL HIGH.

CG: PERHAPS WE’LL BOND OVER JUST HOW IDIOTIC YOU ARE ALL THE TIME?

EB: rude!

EB: but like i said if you meet him that’d be real cool!

CG: YAWN, DON’T CARE.

EB: is it really so hard for you to get some real life friends?

CG: I CAN IF I WANT TO. I JUST DON’T WANT TO. REAL LIFE IS FOR POSERS.

EB: haha you’re such a hipster karkat!

CG: WHAT.

CG: NO, DON’T FUCKING GO THERE EGBERT. I WILL PERSONALLY FLY OVER TO WASHINGTON AND END YOU IF YOU DARE SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN.

EB: it’s funny, my friend said the exact same thing when i called him a hipster.

EB: you two really are alike.

CG: SHUT IT, YOU SOUND LIKE A MATCHMAKER

EB: *wiggles eyebrows*

CG: STOP THOSE WRIGGLING HAIR LINES

EB: never!

CG: YOU’RE INSUFFERABLE AND I HATE YOU.

You continue chatting with Egbert. Thus, you’re completely caught off-guard when your Dad suddenly grabs you beneath the armpits with his enormously large hands and lifts you off your seat.

“Wha—”

“SON,” he booms. You cringe. “YOU HAVE BEEN HERE TODAY FOR ONLY FOUR HOURS AND YOU’RE ALREADY ON YOUR LAPTOP CLICKITY CLICKING ON THOSE TINY KEYS. THIS CANNOT DO.”

He practically throws you onto the ground and shoves fifty dollars plus your cell phone down your shirt. “TAKE THESE AND GET OUT OF HERE. DON’T COME BACK UNTIL SUNSET.”

He picks you up and dumps you unceremoniously on the doormat outside. You stare at the crab-shaped piece of shit and at the cruddy street outside of the apartment. You look up—the sun’s high in the sky. Sunset’s not coming for at least six hours.

You groan and get up, knowing your dad isn’t going to let you back in, and trudge down the apartment stairs. Who knows, maybe you’ll actually do something here in this shitty new place.


	2. Chapter 2

You aren't sure what to do for at least half an hour. You have walked to a couple stores, checked out stuff, bought a romance novel, and walked around some more. By now you're perspiring heavily, though, and the AC at the stores can only save you for so long.

You finally wander to a park and decide to take shelter then. You're being completely serious when you think that some genius must have designed this park, because he or she was bright enough to put the swings under a bit of shade. There's only two, though, and one of them is already occupied. You gladly take the free one and sit down with a light sigh.

You glance at the person on the swing next to you. He's about your age, with light blond hair and a skinny frame. He's wearing black aviators--understandable, seeing the weather, but you can't help but to wonder just how much those shades cost--and a really expensive-looking pair of headphones clamped over his ears.

He's wearing a red hoodie and black skinny jeans and red converse. You ask yourself why you're even bothering to look before you glance back straight ahead and begin swinging.

The wind cools you a bit, even though you're hardly even swinging. You only kick at the ground lightly when you feel that you aren't moving enough. The guy next to you isn't even moving at all. You glance at him.

He's staring at his iPhone, which his headphones are plugged into. You roll your eyes. Why even bother going to the park if you're only going to scroll through your shitty appliance--

Ah, that reminds you that you actually have pesterchum on your phone. You take it and get on the app. You spend about the next four hours chatting to John while swinging. The guy leaves about halfway through--you're surprised that he even sat there for so long.

\---

"NOPE," is all your Dad says the next day when he finds you on your laptop before he hands you another fifty dollars and throws you out of your apartment. You sigh in frustration and stare at the wad of cash. At this rate you can store up a little fortune and maybe hire a pickpocket to get you back in your room, but for now you're stuck outside.

You take your time. You're not really keen on going back to the park for some reason. You eventually find a movie theater and catch a movie--Just Go With It with Adam Sandler, you immediately fall in love--and then go back to wandering. Eventually you have nothing else to do, though, so you go back to the park.

You had a feeling this would happen, but you're still a bit surprised when you see the same guy on the same swing before. Doesn't he have anything better to do than go to the park? Ugh. You then realize that the same question applies to yourself, and you sit down on the empty swing, defeated.

He actually turns and looks at you this time. You send him a small glare and he holds your gaze for a bit--at least you think he does, since you can't really tell because of his shades--before he turns back to his iPhone. You pull out your own phone and start talking to John as well as some other friends.

He gets up a bit over an hour later and leaves. For some reason you watch his figure retreat for a bit before shaking yourself back into reality.

\----

You find that your dad really loves kicking you out of the house. At first you think that he's just being really horrible, but then you realize that your floor needs some renovations and he's just trying to tell you in a roundabout way. Ugh. Right when you put all the furniture in too.

Your father's off at work while you're kicked out of the house, though, so there's no point in spending time with him. Your daily routine becomes shopping around and then, ultimately, going to the park.

Every single day the guy's there on the swing, on his iPhone with his headphones clamped over his ears, and every single day you take the other swing and go on Pesterchum. You two just sit there for hours on end.

He always leaves first.

\----

One day he isn't on his iPhone. He's has a notebook on his lap and a red pen. You swing for a little bit as he scribbles on it, taking glances at the paper each time you swing back. He's apparently doodling. You can't really make out the details.

You finally swing to a stop. You're fishing your phone from your pocket when he suddenly plops his notebook onto your lap.

"What are you doing?" you ask brusquely, looking at him. He just raises his eyebrows and taps at the notebook before handing you a black pen.

"What, can't reply?" you pester, not looking at the notebook. He frowns and taps at his headphones before nudging the notebook. You sigh and finally look.

There at the top in small red letters:

"who are you"

You stare at the statement and look at him. Is this guy serious? You scribble a reply below.

"EXCUSE MY FRENCH, BUT WHY THE UTTER FUCK WOULD THIS MATTER TO YOU?"

You return the notebook. He reads over your reply, writes his own reply, and gives it back to you.

"i dunno  
just see you every day coming here after me and sitting down next to me  
thought that we could at least talk if youre so keen on bursting my bubble"

"I'M NOT 'BURSTING YOUR BUBBLE' YOU PRICK. I'M JUST ENJOYING MYSELF AND MINDING MY OWN DAMN BUSINESS AT THIS PARK.  
AND YOU CONSIDER THIS TALKING?"

"fuck yeah i do  
and youre enjoying yourself by lookin all over me huh"

"I WAS NOT!"

"yeah you were admit it"

"I WAS NOT AND YOU'RE BEING A COMPLETE FOOL."

"nah  
i think you are"

"AT LEAST MY STUPIDITY LEVELS DON'T NEARLY ACCOUNT TO YOURS."

"you just admitted youre stupid  
by the way why do you write in all caps  
do you have a yelly problem"

"WHY DO YOU WRITE IN ALL LOWER CASE? YOU DON'T EVEN USE PUNCTUATION."

"better than all caps"

"FUCK YOU"

"haha"

He adds a doodle after this little comment. You stare at the strange figure. It has a strange mouth and a huge ass and you doubt that this thing can even be related to a human.

"WHAT IS THIS?"

"meet hella jeff  
chillest guy all around"

"HE LOOKS STUPID"

He added another doodle of another guy, underneath captioned:

"and this is sweet bro  
together they make the raddest pair  
sweet bro & hella jeff see"

"ARE THESE TWO YOUR OWN CREATIONS?"

"of course how else can they get this quality"

"THEY'RE GROSS"

"youre not going to say that in a couple decades when you see them up on billboards"

"WHAT, SO THEY'RE GOING TO BE IN MOVIES?"

"of course duh"

This guy's insane. Only way to really explain it.

"YOU'RE INSANE."

"and youre...............  
who are you again?"

"I NEVER SAID. WHAT ARE YOU, AUTISTIC?"

"no but you can really help me if you just tell me your name  
here ill tell you mine  
make it even yknow  
names dave strider"

You hold the notebook for a while, contemplating. He watches you the whole time, his foot tapping to whatever beat coming from his headphones.

You finally scribble down your reply.

"KARKAT VANTAS."

"sweet  
mind if i call you karkles  
or what about vantass"

"FUCK YOU."

"hahaha"

He didn't smile as he wrote this and doesn't smile as you read it. You can't even imagine the laugh even though you're reading it.

"YOU'RE HORRIBLE."

"and you too  
anyway dude its time for me to head back  
gonna be here tomorrow?"

"WHY WOULD YOU CARE?"

"wondering if its worth it for me to bring this notebook tomorrow duh"

 It takes a second or two for the implication of this statement to hit you. He brought this notebook to talk to you...?

For a second you're almost flattered, but then you wonder why he just didn't TAKE OFF HIS HEADPHONES AND TALK TO YOU?

You write that down and shove him the notebook.

"well shit dude i can't stop listening to these mad beats"

"THAT'S A LIE."

"not kidding  
who knows maybe ill even let you listen to them yourself  
anyway answer the damn question"

You sigh.

"YEAH, I HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO ANYWAY."

"sweet, see you tomorrow then"

"BYE, ASSHOLE"

He waves at you before walking away. You stare at his retreating figure, not really too sure what that was all about.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long with this. I'm mainly being lazy because I don't want to go through the trouble of color-coding them if anything, so it's my fault. Haha ;; Well enjoy this chapter! Two more to go!
> 
> I'm actually thinking of making the ending of this fanfiction a bit.. different from the version I posted on tumblr. Perhaps add a new character or two and add more events (though the last chapter of the tumblr version will be in this fic, just not as the last chapter of this fic. I mean. Uh. If you already read it then you know what I mean FF). Whaddya think?

It’s the second day since you met Dave Strider.

You arrive at the park a bit earlier than you expected. Okay, yeah, a lot earlier. The detour around the shops seemed extremely boring today, so you just went ahead and went to the park early. That’s it, alright?

To your utter amazement, he’s already there, sitting on his swing with a notebook on his lap. He spots you as you approach the park and lifts a hand in greeting. You hesitate before scowling and raising your own in return.

You sit down on the swing. He immediately plops the notebook on the lap, a black pen already hooked on the top. Scrawled in red ink on the top of the page:

“youre early”

You don’t really have a voice for this kid when you read his words. Usually when you read pesterlogs between you and your friends, you actually hear their lines in their voices. This happens especially when they have their own typing style (and a lot of them fucking do), and this guy seems like no real exception.

“SHUT UP. THERE WAS NOTHING TO DO WHEN I WALKED AROUND SO I DECIDED TO JUST GO HERE.”

“oh?  
so youre saying that you actually have a set schedule”

“I WOULDN’T REALLY CALL IT THAT. IT’S JUST THAT HOME’S SHIT SO I DECIDE TO GO OUT INSTEAD.”

“doubt it  
you seem like a guy who enjoys staying inside”

Ugh. This guy’s pretty acute.

“AND WHY WOULD YOU MAKE SUCH AN ASSUMPTION ABOUT ME?”

“because you literally spent about a week doing nothing here but play on your phone for at least four hours every single fucking day  
a dude can make assumptions”

“WELL SCREW ME SIDEWAYS, I CAN BASICALLY MAKE THE SAME STATEMENT TO YOU. YOU DON’T EVEN DO ANYTHING HERE AND YET YOU STAY HERE EVEN LONGER THAN ME APPARENTLY.”

“well a guy has to do what a guy has to do”

“WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?”

“nothing  
want to do something?”

“SURE, BECAUSE I’M SURE IN THE MOOD FOR ANY SORT OF SHIT YOU THROW AT ME.”

“my god i can hear you sarcasm without even having to hear it  
youre really a snarky piece of shit haha  
well okay lets do that thing where we ask each other questions”

“YOU MEAN HAVE A DECENT CONVERSATION.”

“well okay you can call it that if you want  
but were gonna take turns okay  
alright ill start”

You actually play with the idea that he’s going to take off his headphones and actually talk to you, but he instead just flips a page of his notebook, writes a question, and hands it to you. And that’s how you two engage in your second conversation.

You ask him several questions. There are some he won’t answer and covers up with snarky answers. For example, when you asked him where he lived, he just wagged a finger at you before writing, “man arent you kind of stalkerish”

Asshole.

You learn a few things about him though. He lives with his older bro, who he simply refers to as ‘Bro’. He wears shades all the time because his Bro told him to never go without them, even when indoors. You even learn that his Bro is a multi-billionaire because of this puppet porn website he runs.

“PUPPET PORN?”

“you heard me  
theyre called smuppets and known for their voluptuous asses and suggestive noses  
has tons of fans and we make a ton of money”  
  
“THAT’S REALLY SICK. I CAN’T EVEN BEGIN TO DESCRIBE ON WHY THAT IS SO WRONG ON SO MANY LEVELS.”

“it pretty much is  
imagine being nose deep in plush asses  
not fun  
but smuppets are nothing compared to cal”

“WHO THE FUCK IS CAL, YOUR BRO’S BOYFRIEND?”

“pretty much”

And then you learn that Dave is terrified (though he doesn’t use this word) out of his wits every single day because of this crazy puppet that his Bro owns. He even scribbles it out for you in a doodle, and while you’re sure it looks nothing like his doodle, it’s still rather creepy.

“who knows you might even meet him someday”

“FUCK NO.”

You don’t only learn about him, though. He learns stuff about you, you guess. He asks you a lot of questions, and you mean a fucking lot, and for some reason you actually answer almost all of them.

He learns that you just moved here with your dad. He also learns that you keep pet hermit crabs and that you like to eat candy. He even learns that you have a humongous stash of romantic comedy films.

“holy shit  
what do you even do with those huh  
cry yourself to sleep after having a marathon every night this summer??”

“OF COURSE NOT. THAT’S A RIDICULOUS AND STUPID ASSUMPTION.”

“i hit dead on huh”

“NO, FUCK YOU, YOU DID NOT.”

“hahaha i so did”

You eventually learn some facts about the both of you. You’re both sixteen years old and you actually go to the same high school—at least you’re going to. He asks what classes you have, and you two discover that you can even possibly have the same classes.

“AP CALCULUS? I THOUGHT THAT I WAS THE ONLY JUNIOR THAT’S GONIG TO TAKE THAT.”

“nope  
youre looking at a master mathematician here holy shit  
were gonna rock these numbers”

“YOU DON’T LOOK SMART.”

“you dont either douchebag”

You finally ask the question that’s been bugging you for a while.

“WHY DO YOU GO HERE EVERY DAY?”

“you know whats the funny thing  
you first saw me the first time you came here right”

“YEAH, SO?”

“me too  
for you that is”

You hesitate when you read this. What is this guy playing at?

“YOU DIDN’T ANSWER MY QUESTION THOUGH”

“ah shit right  
i dunno this place has a sort of nice vibe to it  
dont you think?”

You pause and look around. He actually does the same. You guess he’s right. The swingset seems isolated, surrounded by trees and overlooking a small path. You know that the path leads to more of the park, but the little spot you’re in is pretty comfortable. You’ve hardly seen anyone here besides Dave.

“‘VIBE’. WHAT, ARE YOU AFFLIATED WITH MAGIC OR SOMETHING?”

“nah thats more my sisters thing”

“YOU HAVE A SISTER?”

“kind of”

“WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN”

He looks up at you and puts a finger to his lips. When he hands you back the notebook it says:

“ssh spoilers  
not gonna answer that because its not really important anyway”

“UGH. WHATEVER, I DON’T REALLY CARE ANYWAY.”

“thats the spirit”

You don’t really know how to answer after this. He senses this somehow and takes the notebook back. By now the page is full of both of your writing, so he flips to a new page and adds a new line.

“want to do something tomorrow”

“STARTING A NEW CONVERSATION WITH THE SAME STARTER FROM THE LAST. VERY ORIGINAL, STRIDER.”

“haha   
now why dont you get to answering my question”

“WHAT, HAVE ANOTHER CONVERSATION?”

“that sounds great but i have another idea  
want to hit the movies or something  
i know you have the spare time”

You hold the notebook in your lap, considering it. Finally you sigh and answer.

“YEAH SURE.”

“sweet then its a date”

“DON’T CALL IT THAT.”

“aww why are you feeling nervous already karkles?”

“DO ME A FAVOR, GRAB THOSE HEADPHONES, AND WRAP ITS CORD AROUND YOUR THROAT AND CEASE FROM SPEAKING.”

“hahahaha alright well  
ill see you tomorrow dude  
theater tomorrow at three pm sharp”

“WHAT ARE WE EVEN WATCHING?”

“justin biebers new movie duh  
never say neverrrr”

“I’M NOT GOING.”

“im kidding holy shit  
lets watch green hornet i didnt watch that yet  
or i heard a new romcom is out if you want that”

“IF YOU MEAN ‘JUST GO WITH IT’ THEN I ALREADY WATCHED IT.”

“haha alright then  
green hornet it is  
be punctual”

“YEAH YEAH, FUCK YOU TOO.”

He takes the notebook from you and stands up. You stay sitting, watching him. He pauses and stares at you, looking as if he wanted to say something. You wait, but he finally shakes his head, waves at you, and walks away. You watch his retreating figure, wait about ten minutes, and then finally go, too.


End file.
